Stephen says although the city doesn’t get involved in the housing market, they do offer incentives to developers in the form of tax breaks and grants when the rate drops below three per cent. He also points out that a low rate is better than a very high rate, since that indicates a lot of apartments are either going unrented or are renting for a low price.

“A high rate of 10 per cent would not be good at all,” he says. “A healthy vacancy rate is generally around three per cent but as the population continues to grow the vacancy rate gets lower and lower. When the rate is low like it is now, it will entice more developers into the market and the rate goes up again. It’s not a cause for alarm, it’s just the market doing what the market does.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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